Container sealing machine



Mayv 13, 1941. v R; EELOWEY y l 2,241,711

- CONTAINER SEALING MACHINE Filed May s, 1959 4 sheets-sheet I y inl la.

ur l Q 7 d May 13, 1941. R. E. LowEY 2,241,711

' CONTAINER -SEALING MACHINE Filed May 8, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 13, 1941. 1 R. E, OwE 2,241,711

CONTAINER SEALING MACHINE ffwnafv 'gy E low@ May 13, 1941.

R. E. LQWEY CONTAINER SEALING MACHINE Filed May 8, 1959 fn/6711271' gy E lou/gy l@ Patented May 13, 1941 CONTAINER sEAmNG MACHINE Roy E. -I-lowey, Evanston, Ill., assignor to Container Corporation of America, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Application May s, 1939, serial No. 272,304

(c1. eis-ssi' 'Ihe present invention relates to container sealing machinery andv more particularly relates to a machine for sealing a separate closure on a container which is in the form of a tray.

One object of the invention is to provide a relatively simple and effective machine for forming and applyinga .closure element to a tray and causing the retention of the closure to the tray. A more specic object of the invention is to provide a machine for effectively sealing a form of container of the type disclosed in my co-pending tending therefrom adapted to engage the upper interior surfaces of the tray walls, as well as the upper exterior surfaces of such walls, the machine being also adapted to engage the flange portions of the closure element .to cause them to be brought into intimate contact with the upper exterior and interior portions of the tray walls, whereby the tray and closure elements may be permanently secured together.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machineof the character described which can' be utilized with a tray and` closureelement provided with a thermoplastic lining material whereby adherence between the tray and closure may be effectedby application of heat to one or both elements.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the kind described, adapted t0 Iapply to a tray a closure element having a thermoplastic lining of sheet material, the machine being adapted to bring the corners of the thermoplastic sheet material into close'tting contact with the exterior corners of the tray, as well as into close fitting contact with the other portions of the tray walls, whereby the closure will be substantially hermetically sealed to the tray.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a plan view, with certain parts broken away, of a machine made in accordance with the present invention;

" Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, of

the machine illustrated in Fig. 1 showing the parts of the machine'as they appear at the completion of the sealing operation;

Fig. 3 is a. fragmentary elevational view, partly in section, illustrating the machine as it appears when in position to receive the tray and closure preparatory to assembly of these elements;

Fig. 4 is a Aview similar to Fig. 3, but showing the sealing head in lowered position after thev closure has become partly assembled with the tray and before the closure flange pressure elements have come into action to press the flanges of the closure vinto rm engagement with the sides of the tray;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view illustrating the relationship of the closure main panel presser element with the closure flange presser element when such parts are inv an intermediate closure sealing position;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detailed sectional view taken substantially along line 6-6 of Fig. 1 and illustrating the arrangement of the presser heating units and also illustrating the presser elements at a lowered point just prior to their ilnal position in which the flanges of the closure are pressed tightly against the upper portion of the tray;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary detailed sectional view taken substantially along line 1-1 of Fig. 1, and

illustrating the presser parts in their lowermost of two adjacent -cooperating elements;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of a closure element I adapted for use with the machine of the present invention, such closure element being illustrated as it appears when laid out flat with a sheet lining element attached; and

Figs. 10, 11 and 12 are sectional views of a tray and closure showing the vsequence of steps of applying the closure to the tray as performed by the machine of the present invention.

The present invention, as herein disclosed, pro- A vides-a sealing machine which is particularly co-pending application above Vreferred to. The machine comprises a base for reception of the tray, a frame'element on which a sealing head is supported, there being provision for relative movement .between the sealing head and the base whereby the sealing head may be brought into operative relationship with a closure element which has been disposed in proper relationship to a tray positively on the base so that the parts on the sealing head will cause the closure Aelement to be properly formed and brought into the desired relation to the upper portion of the side I walls of the tray to enable sealing to be effected.

As illustrated in Fig. 9 the closure element 4 is preferably formed with extensions on each of its edges which are scored to provide inner anges 4a, 4a for engaging the inner surfaces of the tray walls and outer flanges 4b, 4b, for engaging the outer surfaces of the tray walls. A liner 4c, preferably in the form of a sheet of thermoplastic material, is applied to one side of the closure.

The base I (see Figs. 1, 2 and 7) is herein illustrated as being formed of a suitable casting having a main plate portion E terminating at its edges in a depending flange l. In the present instance, the base I has an extension 8 at its rear edge to accommodate the frame 2.

For the purpose of properly positioning the tray 5 on the base I, there is provided an upwardly projecting rim 3 arranged to contact the lower edge portion of the tray walls to maintain the tray properly centered to receive the closure element.

The closure element 4 is preferably left in a flat condition prior to its being positioned within the machine for application to a tray. In order to properly maintain the closure in position to be assembled with the tray, guides are provided on the base, these guides being indicated at I0, III and being in the form of upstanding angle members suitably attached to the base by means of machine screws.

The construction of the sealing head will now be described. 'I'he supporting frame for the sealing head, indicated at 2, comprises an upstanding element Il, and a horizontal portion |2, extending over the base and terminating in a boss I3, through. which there is formed an aperture for the reception of the sealing head operating rod I4.

A main frame I6 for supporting the sealing elementson the sealing head is suitably secured by a set screw to the lower end of the operating rod I4. 'Ihis main frame is provided with suitable rib-s I8, I8, terminating in enlarged bosses I9, IS from which the outer closure flange presser elements, indicated as a whole at 2U, 20, are supported by means of upwardly extending lugs 2l, 2|, on pins 22, 22, in a eut-out portion 23 of each boss I9.

In addition to the outer closure flange presser t, elements 2li, 20, the frame I5 carries a main panel presser element 25 slidablyv associated with the frame for parallel movement with respect thereto, being guided by a, plurality of guide rods 26, 26 fitted into openings formed inthe bosses I9, I9. f

The rods 26, 26 are in the form of machine screws each having ya head 21 serving to afford `convenient assembly with the presser element 25, the heads on rods 25 also serving to maintain the presser element attached to the frame I6 of the sealing head.

As illustrated in Fig. 7, the main panel presser element has a reduced end portion 28, the lower end of which is the exact size of the main panel of the closure 4. The lateral edge portions 29, 29 of the reduced portion 28 are shaped to conform to the upwardly extending flange on the closure 4. In the present instance the closure is illustrated as being adapted for use on a tapered tray having outwardly flaring Walls, thus requiring the lateral edge portions 29, 29 on the element 25 to be tapered in conformity therewith.

At its upper portion the main panel presser element 25 is provided with an overhanging shoulder 30 arranged to engage the upper edges of the`closure flanges, such edges being illustrated in Fig. l2 as the line of juncture between the inner and outer flange portions 4a and 4b.

It is thus apparent that when it is desired to apply a at closure element to a tray held on the base, as illustrated in Fig. 3, the main panel presser element will be brought down against the main panel of the closure, causing the flanges 4a, 4a of the closure to be moved to an upwardly extended position and, as the movement progresses, the inner closure flanges will be held rmly within the interior portions of the tray. As the closure approaches its iinal position, the shoulder 30 on the element 25 will tend to cause initial downward deflection of the outer flange portions 4b of the closure.

The outer closure flange presser elements 2li, 20 are controlled in a manner and by a construction which will presently be described, so as to cause the outer closure flanges to be folded downward at the proper time, bringing such flanges into a position closelyA adjacent the upper portions of the side walls of the tray. The presser elements 20, 20 are constructed to provide a face portion 3| arranged to assume a relation substantially in parallelisml with the face 29 of the main panel presser element when the outer closure flange is in a firmly pressed position against the walls of the tray. Means are provided for normally retaining the presser elements 20, 2|) out of a closely positioned arrangement with respect to the main panel presser element. For this purpose there are provided springs, as indicated at 33 in Fig. '7, housed in drilled-out openings 33a in the bosses I9, I9.

The ends of each of the springs bear against the lugs 2| below the pivotal point provided by pin 22 so as to normally force the flange presser element away from the center of the sealing head.

It is to be noted that the flange presser elements 20, 20 as herein disclosed, are located at each corner of the tray and each presser element comprises parts 20a and 20h extending at right angles to each other. The adjacent presser elements are preferably associated with each other by a tongue and groove arrangement, i1- lustrated in Fig. 8, in which the arm 20a is illustrated as being provided with a tongue element v 34 and the adjacent presser element 20h is provided with two extended portions 35, 35 which the tongue 34.

between them form a groove for the reception of The tongue and groove arrangement is made ,suiciently loose fitting so as to enable the individual units 20, 20 to swing outwardly to provide space necessary for the efli- Fig. '1.

dividual outer closure flange along its entire length.

The mechanism for imparting movement to the sealing head, including the mechanism for synchronizing the movement of the main panel presser element and side flange presser elements will now be described.

The sealing head operating rod is hingedly connected at its upper end on a pin 31 to a hand lever 38 which is hinged at 39 to a pair of link elements 40, 40 which, in turn, are hinged at 4I on the frame 2 so as to provide a moving fulcrum point to enable the hinge pin 31 to move in a straight line. The hand lever is preferably normally urged to a position in which the sealing head is fully raised and for this purpose the hand lever has an extension 42 connected to a lug 43 on the frame 2 by means of a tension spring 44, which tends to urge the end 42 of the hand lever to a lowered position thus causing the pivot -31 to move to a raised position. From the construction thus described, it is apparent that the frame I6, supporting the sealing elements, will be raised and lowered by upward and downward movement of the hand lever. As the outer closure flange presser elements are pivoted to xed points on the frame I6, itis apparent that these presser elements will be raised and lowered exactly in accordance with the movement of the frame.

Means are provided for selectively connecting the main panel presser element with` the sealing head so that'at a predetermined point in the `machine cycle, the connection between the presser element and the sealing head will be converted from a positive or ilxed connection to a yielding connection. In the present instance the yielding connection between the presser element and the sealing head is provided by hollowing out the sealing head operating rod I4 to form an opening through which a main panel presser element control rod 46 is adapted to 'be slidably received. The lower end of the control rod 46 engages against the top of the main panel presser element and yielding means are provided for maintaining the rod 46 against the top of the presser element during the llnal portion of the downward movement of the sealing head. For this purpose there is provided an enlarged opening 41 in the rod I4 within which there is housed a compression spring 48 bearing at its lower end upon a ring 49 ilxed to the rod 46 and bearing at its upper end against a ring 56 fixed at the upper-portion of the rod I4, so that the spring 48 will normally tend to force the rod 46 downward, as viewed in Fig. 2, until the ring 49 comes to rest against the lower end of the enlarged hollow portion of the rod I4, as will be the case when the. parts are in the position illustrated .in

'I'he means for positively connecting the rods I4 and 46 and disengaging such positive connection at a predetermined point will now be described. As viewed in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. there is preferably provided -on the hand lever 38 a pivoted detent element V52. This detent 52 may for convenience be pivoted on the pin 31. A portion 53 formed on detent 52 normally extendingr through a notch 54 at the upper end of the hollow control rod 46 so that the detent 52 will-normally assume a position overlying the upper end of rod 46 as best seen in Fig. 3. In the present instance the weight of detent 52 is preferably so distributed so as to cause the portion 53 to swing by gravity into the slot 54 in the control rod I4.

So long as the portion@ 53 is in engagement with the end of the rod 46, it ls apparent that the rod 46 will be positively forced downward with the hand lever. This, in turn, will force the closure main panel presser element positively downward causing the closure to be formed and at the same time forced into the tray. See particularly Figs. 3 and 4.

For the purpose of disengaging the portion 53 of the detent 52 from the end of rod 46 there is provided a suitable tripping member 55 secured on the horizontal part I2 of the frame 2. This tripping member 55 comprises a surface portion 56 which is located in the path of surface portion 51 on an arm 58 extending from the detent 52 so that when the arm 58 is moved down sufficiently to cause contact between the surfaces 56 and 51, the detent will be caused to swing to the right as viewed in Figs. 3 and 4. The latter figure illustrates the detent as it is being withdrawn from the end of the rod 46.

By comparison of Figs. 2 and 4, it will be seen` that Fig. 4 illustrates the position in which positive movement of the rod 46 is discontinued and thereafter, upon downward movement vof the rod I4, the rod 46 will be influenced by spring 48 so that the rod 46 will yieldingly bear against the main panel presser element 25. It is to be also observed that, during the continued downward motion of the sealing head from the position shown in Fig, 4 to that shown in Fig. 2, the guide rods 26, 26 will assume a relatively upwardly displaced position with respect to the frame I6.

Upon the return of the hand lever to raised position, the portion 53 of the detent will ride along the surface of the rod 46 until such portion clears the end of the rod whereupon the rod will swing to the left, as viewed in Figs. 2, 3gand 4, to again place the portion 53 in position to engage against the upper end of the rod 46 on subsequent downward movement of the rod I4. The tripping mechanism for the detent 52 is preferably made adjustable and for this purpose the member 55 is pivoted at 68 on the frame portion I2 and there are provided two set screws 6I and 62 located at opposite sides of the pivot point of the member 55 so that by alternate upward and downward rotational movement of the set screws, the member 55 may be moved to trip the detent 52 at either an earlier or later time in the downward movement of the hand lever as may be desired. p

For the purpose of guiding the sealing head, the vertical portion II on the frame is preferably grooved as indicated at 63 and into this groove there is received an extended Iportion 64 proiecting from the frame I6 to closely fit within the groove and thus reduce the angular movement of the sealing head to a negligible value.

The arrangement for causing the closure ange presser elements to firmly engage against the closure flanges, preferably comprises mechanism arranged to cause the actuation of the presser elements at a predetermined point in the cycle of operation of the sealing mechanism. In the present instance the mechanism for actuating the closure flange presser elements is illustrated as being, arranged to become operative at a point When the closure main panel presser element has reached substantially its lowermost position. For this purpose there is provided at each corner of the sealing head a roller camming means 66 mounted in a frame 61 adjustably secured for lateral movement to the base I. The outer face of each of the lugs 2|,

constituting the corner construction between the presser elements is suitably bevelled, as indicated at 68, and the position of the roller 66 is such as to cause the bevelled faces 68 to come in contact with the roller when the sealing head has been lowered. Due to the provision of the bevel faces S8 on the lugs 2|, it is obvious that there will be a camming action produced on the outer faces of the lugs 2| which will force the closure flange presser elements into rm contact with the closure flanges of a closure applied to a tray disposed in place with the machine.- See Fig. '1.

As above stated, the roller frame 61 is adjustably mounted upon the base plate S. This adjustment is for the purpose of changing the degree of pressure which Will be exerted on the outer closure flanges. To provide for this adjustment the horizontal portion 69 of the frame 51 is formed with a pair of slots 'l0 and 1|. The slots 10 are formed in a position to enga-ge a guiding pin 12 fixed in the base plate. A machine screw 13 is threaded into the base plate and passes through the slot 1|. Due to the provision of the slots in the frame 61, the frame can be moved toward and from the corners of the sealing head and when the frame is in the desired position it may be rigidly held by tightening the machine screw 13.

The machine of the present invention is adapted to secure the closure on the tray by applying pressure to the closure parts after same have been rendered adhesive by an adhesive coating applied in various manners.

In the present instance the machine is designed to apply a closure to a tray in which the surfaces of the closure and tray have been treated with thermoplastic material, 'as for example' coating the surfaces with thermoplastic coating or by applying thermoplastic sheet material to the contacting surfaces of the tray and closure.

For this purpose the main panel presser element and the closure flange presser elements are each provided with suitable electrical heating units indicated generally at 15 and 16.

The unit 15 (see Fig. 6) is embedded in a suitable aperture 11 machined out of the main panel presser element 25. The unit 16 is preferably arranged in opening 18 which is suitably closed by plate 19. Suitable conductors, not shown, are employed for delivering current to the electrical heating units. The particular construction of the heating units forms no part of the present invention but it is obvious that suitable controlling devices may be provided for increasing or decreasing the amount of current flowing to any one or more of the individual heating units and one set of heating units obviously may be operated independently of the other set.

By proper control of the heat supplied to-the presser elements by the heating units, it is manifest that the thermoplastic material on the contacting parts of the tray and closure can be heated to the necessary extent toy render the thermoplastic material tacky or adhesive and cause the material on one contacting surface to adhere to the material on an adjacent contacting surface.

Each closure flange presser element 2|! is ar-l ranged 4.to provide a right angled corner to conform to the corners of the closure element, whereby when the type of closure is employed as illustrated in Fig. 9 in which a thermoplastic liner sheet has been applied to the closure, the corners of the liner sheet Will be brought firmly down into engagement with the corners of the closure and the liner sheet corners will be firmly secured to provide a hermetically sealed joint.

The use and operation of the machine will now be briefiy summarized. Assuming that the machine is to be employed with thermoplastically lined trays in which the thermoplastic material also extends over the upper portion of the outer wall surfaces and the closure elements are lined with thermoplastic sheet material as illustrated in Fig. 9, the trays will be first filled with edible material or whatever othermaterial is to be placed therein. The tray will then be positioned on the base where it will be properly centered by the guide element 9. The closure will then be placed on the tray. If the closure is to be used in hat form, the guiding means for the closure will be positioned as illustrated in the drawings. If, however, the closure elements are partly preformed, the guides may either be dispensed with or should be placed so as to properly engage the partially folded flanges.

After the closure has been properly positioned with respect to the tray, as shown in Fig. 3, the handle lever 38 will be pressed downward, thus bringing the sealing head into lowered position.

The first effect upon the closure 4 is to move the closure main panel partially into the mouth of the tray 5, thus causing the flanges 4a to be bent upwardly. At the same time the outer closure flange presser elements are moved downward and will engage the outer closure flanges 4b, causing these flanges to be folded downward, as best shown in Fig. 5. Continued downward movement o'f the presser head will bring the closure main panel to its final position in which position the line of juncture between the closure flanges la and 4b will engage the upper edges of the tray as yshown in Figs. 4 and 6. It is to be noted that, at this point in the machine operation, the outer closure fianges 4b are still out of contact with the upper portions of the tray walls. Continued downward movement of, the sealing head will cause the detent 52 to be tripped and release the positive connection between the rods 46 and I4. This may be best seen by a comparison of Figs. 4 and 2. The tripping of detent 52 will thus permit the sealing head to be moved downwardly Without concurrent downward movement of the closure main panel presser element 25. This presser element is maintained in yielding-engagement with the main panel of the closure through the influence of the spring 48.

As the sealing head moves down past the position shown in Fig. 4, the face 68 on each lug 2| will come into contact with the indivi-dual rollers t6, which has the elect of moving the outer closure flange presser elements inwardly to cause the outer closure anges to be pressed firmly against the surfaces of the outer walls of Ythe ray.

Due to the provision of heating means within the presser elements, it is obvious that when the engaging surfaces of the tray and closure are brought into contact by these presser elements while the latter are in a heated condition, .the thermoplastic material on the tray and closure will be rendered soft by the heat and thus the contacting surfaces will be caused `to adhere to each other. The particular type of thermoplastic material employed, as well as the degree of heat and the degree `of pressure, form no part of the present invention asl this is to a large extent a matter of choice depending upon the particular results desired. Itis only necessary to provide suitable means for adjusting the supply of heat to the presser elements for maintaining them at temperatures which will give the desired re` sults with the particular type of thermoplastic material which is used on the contacting parts which are to be adhesively secured together. It is also obvious that the degree of heat as supplied by the heatingl units may be'varied and that it is readily possible to leave either one or the other of the groups of heating units in an unheated condition.

Due to the provision for adjusting the trip mechanism 55 to disconnect the closure main panel presser element from fixed relation to the sealing head, and also due to the means for adjusting the position of the rollers l66 against which the outer closure panel presser elements are arranged to contact, it is clear that the sealing machine may be adjusted for different heightsof trays or for trays of uniform height but having closures of different depth recesses. In other words, the machine is capable of operating upon various types of trays in which the nal position of the clos-ure main panel with regard to the base of the machine may vary as between different individual groups of trays. If it is desired to seal trays, the closure elements of which are of a depth relatively less than that illustrated on thedrawings, the xed connection between the closure main panel presser element and the lsealing head must be released at `an earlier point in the sealing machine cycle. For this purpose the trip element 55 would be adjusted by swinging it in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2. In order to time the operation of the outer flange presser elements to cause them to exert pressure immediately following the arrival of the 4closure main panel presser element to ilnal position, the frame 61 carrying .the rollers-6B will preferably be moved somewhat inwardly which will have the effect of causing the cam surfaces 68 to contact the rollers 66 at a slightly earlier time.

In the event it is desired to seal a closure on a size of tray which 'is relatively lower than the tray illustrated in the drawings, and, assuming that the closure main panel for such trays is arranged to come to rest `in its ilnal position-at a. lower level than that illustrated in the drawings,

' the trip element 55 would .be angularly adjusted in a counter-clockwise position to delay the disconnection between the main panel presser element and the sealing head.

While the present description sets forth a preferred embodiment of thie invention, numerous changes may be made in the construction without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is therefore desired that the present embodiment be considered in al1 respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.

I claim:

l1. A machine for applying to a .rectangular container a recessed closure having a main panel and inner and outer tray wall engaging flanges, said machine comprising a tray receiving base, a sealing head supporting frame, a sealing head mounted on the frame for'movement toward and from the base, a presser element on the sealing head for applying pressure against the closure' main panel, resilient connecting means vbetween the main vpanel presser element and the sealing head, means for positively connecting the sealing head and the main panel presser element during movement of the sealing head from its initial position to a position in which .the presser element has forced the clos-ure main panel to its flnal position within the tray, means for causing the positive connecting means to 4become inoperative when the presser element has reached said last mentioned position, said presser element having edge portions thereon adapted to engage the closure inner flanges, closure flange presser elements carried by the sealing head and arranged for lateral movement thereon toward and from the edge surfaces of the presser element and adapted to exert pressure on the closure outer flanges, means operative during 'movement of the sealing head to final position-for moving the closure flange presser elements against the closureouter flanges to bring such flanges into position to exert pressure against the adjacent tray surfaces, said resilient means for maintaining the closure main panel presser element in Contact with the closure main panel being operative, upon withdrawal of the sealing head, to retain the closure upon the tray until the closure flange presser elements are no longer acted upon by the means causing such presser elements to exert pressure against the outer closure flanges.

2. A sealing machine for applying to a rectangular, tray-form container a recessed closure having a main panel and inner and outer tray-wall engaging flanges, said sealing machine comprising a tray receiving base, a sealing head, means for supporting the base and sealing head for relative movement; toward and from each other, said sealing head including a presser element for applying pressure against the closure main panel, means for selectively connecting sa'id presser element with the sealing head in a yielding or fixed relation, means operable at a predetermined point in the relative movement of the sealing head and base toward each other for rendering the fixed ,connecting means lbetween the main panel presser element and the sealing head inoperative and rendering :the yielding connecting means operative, and means for varying the time relation at which the fixed connecting means becomes inoperative and the yielding means becomes operative.

3. A sealing machine adapted for forming from a. planiform closure blank a recessed closure havmen-t toward and from each other, said sealing head including a presser element for applying pressure against the closure main panel, said presser element being also formed with lateral edge surfaces contacting the inner closure flanges, outer flange presser 'elements carried by the sealing head and 'mounted for free movement outwardly from the lateral edge surfaces of the closure main panel 'presser element and movable inwardly for exerting pressure against the outer closure flanges, said outer flange presser elements and the closure main panel presser element being mounted on the sealing head for substantial movement toward and away from the tray receiving base independently of each other, means for forcing the outer` flange presser elements a predetermined distance outwardly of the edge surfaces of the closure main panel presser element during a. portion of `the time in which the sealing head and .base are moving relatively .toward each other to cause the outer flange presser elements to engage the outer wail-engaging angesand fold the flanges downwardly upon continued movement; of the outer flange presser elements toward the base, and means eiective upon termination of the relative movement of the main panel presser element toward the base for actuating the outer closure flange presser elements to bring them into lateral pressure exerting relation with the edge' surfaces of the main panel presser element, whereby the outer closure ilanges will be urged against the side walls of the container.

4. A sealing machine adapted for forming from a lplaniform closure blank a recessed closure having a main panel and inner and outer wall engaging iianges and for applying such closure to a container, said sealing machine comprising a tray receiving base, a presser element for applying pressure against the closure main panel, means for supporting the base and presser element for relative movement toward and from each other, said presser element being also formed with lateral edge surfaces contacting the inner closure flangeaouter flange presser elements mounted for free movement outwardly from the lateral edge surfaces of the closure main panel presser element and movable inwardly for exerting pressure against the outer closure iianges, said outer ilange presser elements and the closure main panel presser element being mounted for substantial movement toward and away from the tray receiving base, independently of each other, means for maintaining the outer ange presser elements a predetermined distance outwardly of the edge surfaces of the closure main panel presser element during a portion of the time in which the main panel presser element and base are moving relatively toward eachother, means for moving the outer flange Dresser elements toward the base tov engage the outer wall engaging flanges and fold the flanges downwardly, and means for actuating the outer closure flange presser elements to bring them into lateral pressure exerting relation with the edge surfaces of the main panel presser element, whereby the outer closure flanges will be urged against the side walls of the container.

5. A sealing machine adapted for forming from a planiform closure blank a recessed closure having a main panel and inner and outer wall-engaging anges and for applying such closure to a container, said sealing machine comprising a frame, a tray receiving base and a closure main panel presser element supported by said frame, means for effecting relative movement between the closure main panel presser element and base,

` said closure main panel presser element being formed with lateral edge surfaces for contacting the inner closure flanges, outer flange presser elements movably carried by the frame for contactingthe outer closure flanges, said outer ange presser elements being mounted for substantial relative movement toward and away from the tray receiving -base independently of the closure main panel presser element, and means for controlling the movement of the outer flange presser elements toward the base in following timed relation to the relative approaching movement of the base and closure main panel presser element, whereby the closure main panel presser elenient will engage the closure main panel to force it below the top edges of the container side walls and thereafter the outer presser elements are caused to engage the outer wall engaging flanges and fold said flanges downwardly against the side walls upon continued movement of the outer flange presser elements toward lthe base.

ROY E. LOWEY. 

